Ferndale woman robbed on street, reward offered for tips

A $1,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of a man who robbed a Ferndale woman at knifepoint as she was walking home.

The woman, 52, was returning home from the library when the man approached her from behind on Paxton Street, three blocks south of Woodward off of Nine Mile Road.

“She felt a poke in her back, turned around and saw the guy,” said Ferndale Police Lt. William Wilson. “He told her to give up all her money or he would cut her.”

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The woman described the weapon the man was holding as a jackknife. Police said she turned over all the money she had to the attacker, but police refused to disclose how much cash the man got away with.

The robbery happened just before 7 p.m. on Monday, police said.

After the man got the woman’s money he fled the area on foot. Police said they don’t know at this point whether the man was working alone or got into a waiting vehicle as he fled.

The man is described as black and was wearing black clothing, including a heavy parka with the hood tightly wrapped around his head and face.

The man is dark skinned and was clean shaven, police said.

The reward of up to $1,000 is being offered by Crime Stoppers. Anyone with information is asked to call Ferndale Police at 248-541-3650.

A couple who reported being robbed at gunpoint on West Eight Mile Road in December 2011 turned out to have been involved in a drug deal that went bad and were ultimately charged with filing a false police report.

“A lot of times when we get reports of an (on-street) robbery we have younger people as victims engaged in questionable behavior,” Wilson.